Malicious Wounding

This offence requires one to have a specific intention of wounding or causing grievous bodily harm on another person.

What is wounding? Wounding is defined as the breaking of the upper and lower layer of the skin. Causing ‘grievous bodily harm’ is a legal term for very serious injuries including permanent or serious disfigurement. Grievous bodily harm should be differentiated from simply a fracture in a bone where the injury is not life threatening.

Because there is a specific intent for this offence, the prosecutor or police sometimes lay a back up charge of reckless wounding generally when they cannot prove there was an intention to cause an injury which would amount to grievous bodily harm..

Offences of this type carry a maximum 25 year imprisonment and are considered very serious by the court.